2025 Student Contests: Take a deep dive into American history—and win cash prizes

This spring, the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History is pleased to offer a series of contests for students in grades 3 through 12. All contests are free to enter, provide cash prizes for the winners, and allow students the opportunity to explore a particular topic, theme, or individual from American history. 

Learn more about each contest below, and please email education@gilderlehrman.org if you have any questions!

Read more

The 21st Frederick Douglass Book Prize Ceremony

The 21st Frederick Douglass Book Prize was awarded on February 13, 2020, at the Schimmel Center of Pace University to Amy Murrell Taylor, professor of history at the University of Kentucky, for her book Embattled Freedom: Journeys through the Civil War’s Slave Refugee Camps.
Read more

Hamilton Education Program Online February Newsletter

FEBRUARY 2021: BLACK LIVES IN THE FOUNDING ERA
Read more

Ohio History Teacher of the Year Interviewed about WWII Fallen Soldiers Project

Joseph Boyle, the 2019 Ohio Teacher of the Year, has, since 2014 led a powerful teaching unit with his students at Morrison R. Waite High School in Toledo. Using only primary source documents, Boyle’s students reconstruct the lives of fallen World War II soldiers from their community and present eulogies for them at a public event. His students, the state of Ohio, and now the country at large have been inspired by the work done by this Toledo native. 
Read more

Announcing the 2020 Lincoln Prize Finalists

Gettysburg College and the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History have announced the finalists for the 2020 Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize.
Read more

Re-envision Women's History with Professors Carol Berkin and Catherine Clinton

Professors Carol Berkin and Catherine Clinton have revolutionized the field of American women’s history in their academic careers. Berkin struggled against a generation that believed incorrectly that there were no primary sources to support the study of women during the American Revolution.
Read more

50 States, 1 Nation Elementary School Essay Contest Launched

A New Writing Contest for Elementary School Students
Read more

Recent Press Mentions

Graduation Ceremony Held for the Gettysburg College–Gilder Lehrman MA in American History

Newspaper image
On Saturday, July 15, Gettysburg College celebrated the achievements of graduates of the Gettysburg College–Gilder Lehrman MA in American History.
Read more

International Press for GLI's Spanish-American Curriculum Partnership with the Queen Sofía Spanish Institute

Newspaper image

The Sentinel Interviews Kevin Weddle on Winning the Gilder Lehrman Prize for Military History

Newspaper image
"In today’s 5 Questions, The Sentinel gave Weddle the opportunity to delve deeper into the research and findings of his book that recently earned him the Gilder Lehrman Prize for Military History."
Read more